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Post by Blacksunshine on May 12, 2020 21:23:19 GMT -5
The innerwebs have all kinds of suggestions ranging from spray cleaner, to running through a brass brush on a rifle cleaning rod, to fancy $40 tools especially made for the job.
What do you guys use?
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Post by larryguitar54 on May 12, 2020 22:33:22 GMT -5
I just spray in a bit of Deoxit and I"m good for a year or two.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on May 13, 2020 1:05:23 GMT -5
.25-cal brass bore brush with some DeOxIt on it.
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Post by Pinetree on May 13, 2020 4:33:59 GMT -5
.30 cal brass bore brush/DeoxIT.
Unless you have a guitar that's been improperly stored (damp basement), it's pretty rare to see a lot of corrosion on a steel or plated jack.
Plus the insertion and removal of the plug kinda self-cleans the surface.
If I'm working on a guitar for a customer then I'll run a brush through it just because.
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Post by LTB on May 13, 2020 8:58:58 GMT -5
Deoxit 5 and insert and remove a 1/4" plug several times has worked for me, however after reading Peegoo and Pinetree's methods I will have to try those in the future.
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Post by Pinetree on May 13, 2020 9:59:01 GMT -5
I just happen to have gun cleaning stuff laying around, but you can find bore brushes (but probably not Boar brushes) in just about any sporting good store or even Walmart.
.25 caliber would be correct for quarter-inch, I just had .30 cal so it's handy.
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Post by Blacksunshine on May 13, 2020 10:36:28 GMT -5
Thanks everybody, looks like bore brush it is!
And as luck would have it, I have a brand new unused kit that my son got me for Christmas that has all the sizes from .17 all the way up to 12 gauge.
Thanks again
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Post by Leftee on May 13, 2020 10:38:04 GMT -5
If you have to use the 12 ga... you need a new jack.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on May 13, 2020 11:12:33 GMT -5
If you're lacking a bore brush, a rolled up piece of fine sandpaper (minimum 600 grit) works as well. If you don't think you need that much, just a bit of any random solvent on a q-tip can work surprisingly well, even just naphtha or isopropyl alcohol. Unscrewing a jack plate to get around the jack helps too, depending on guitar design.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on May 13, 2020 13:00:20 GMT -5
Dave Reaume (Dave's World of Fun Stuff on yoochoob) uses a round file. While that does immediately improve electrical contact with the plug, it's bad practice because it removes the protective plating on the steel. The plating is there to prevent corrosion of the steel. Using a file can accelerate the death of the jack. Dave is a pretty good tech, but sometimes his methods are less than optimal.
Yeah, I know jacks are cheap and replacing one is a cinch, but anytime repairs are made to anything, the number one rule is Do No Damage.
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Post by Blacksunshine on May 13, 2020 13:12:42 GMT -5
If you have to use the 12 ga... you need a new jack. Har!
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Post by Blacksunshine on May 13, 2020 13:17:21 GMT -5
I should have mentioned, I'm specifically trying to clean a jack on a 10-series Ibanez pedal, where replacing the jack isn't all that practical or possible for me to do it myself, they are soldered to the the board.
I shot some Radio Shack control/contact cleaner & lubricant I had laying around in there, and followed it with a bore brush and it seemed to help. It was a quickie job, I will try it more thoroughly when I get a spare minute. I was just curious if it was going to make any difference, or if there was something else wrong with the jack.
Thanks again everybody!
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Post by Pinetree on May 13, 2020 13:23:39 GMT -5
There's a chance it could have pulled loose from the board and broken one of the traces.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on May 13, 2020 14:19:22 GMT -5
Wouldn't hurt to take it apart to visually inspect what's going on. Board mounted stuff can be weird when going blind.
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Post by Pinetree on May 13, 2020 16:36:11 GMT -5
If you've ever used the plug to lift the pedal up off the Velcro it's a good possibility.
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Post by Leftee on May 13, 2020 16:42:21 GMT -5
Those direct-connect plugs to hook up pedals to each other aren’t such a good idea either.
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Post by LTB on May 14, 2020 0:20:29 GMT -5
Those direct-connect plugs to hook up pedals to each other aren’t such a good idea either. You are absolutely correct. Found that one out when I purchased some straight ones and attempted to use them. There are some with a slight offset which help slightly but I would think they would force the pedals to be slightly offset.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on May 14, 2020 1:30:38 GMT -5
"If you've ever used the plug to lift the pedal up off the Velcro it's a good possibility."
I cringed.
I've seen players step on the plug going into a pedal and break the plug, break the jack, etc. Straight plugs put a significant side load on a jack due to the leverage they apply when a cord gets yanked. 90-degree plugs tend to be more gentle on a jack.
One of my pals stepped on one of the plugs on his Peterson Strobostomp tuner (the blue one) and broke the jack. He gave it to me to fix and upon taking it apart, I discovered the plastic jack had no mechanical connection to the pedal case. It was actually swimming in a hole in the side of the case ,so when it got stepped on it broke the PC board it was mounted to. If you're designing for built-in failure--that is a fantastic feature and it works precisely as intended.
The direct connect plugs (even the offset ones) are one of the worst pieces of gear you can use. If you look closely at a pedal when you step on it, the entire thing moves a little bit. Not good.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on May 14, 2020 9:53:24 GMT -5
I've seen players step on the plug going into a pedal and break the plug, break the jack, etc. Straight plugs put a significant side load on a jack due to the leverage they apply when a cord gets yanked. 90-degree plugs tend to be more gentle on a jack. Sometimes I wonder if this is part of why 1/4" jacks are obsolete everywhere except the music industry. I know the in-line contacts are one reason (the tip passes through the sleeve and ring first - other connectors are parallel and never cross each other), but nothing is made as tonka tough as it was in the hey-day of 1/4" phone plugs either. I hate RCA plugs with a passion, but you can get those board mounted with far less stress than other connectors. With 1/4", they really should be panel mounted, and in a panel with a fair amount of strength. Just a thought. *shrug*
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on May 14, 2020 10:49:38 GMT -5
I think 1/4" plugs, which pretty much came from early telephone switchboard technology, really have no application in any other industry. Prior to their introduction, the standard shielded audio connector was the Amphenol type with the screw collar commonly used for microphones. Not the best for quickly making/breaking connections in a patch panel by a woman with long fingernails named Mabel. Which is weird--naming your fingernails Mabel. 1/4" plugs are ideally suited to low voltage/low current applications like carrying signal from a guitar to an amp, or line-level or headphone level signal. Although they're also commonly used for speaker connections, they're really not good for high current speaker levels due to the extremely small/weak electrical connection between the plug's tip and the jack's tip contact. The audio/stereo industry quickly grasped this, but the music amplifier business never really made the change. Some bass amps and many PA amps and speakers have Neutrik connectors for speaker connections, which are a vast improvement.
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Post by Blacksunshine on May 14, 2020 11:31:40 GMT -5
If you're designing for built-in failure--that is a fantastic feature and it works precisely as intended. LOL! Really!
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pdf64
Wholenote
Posts: 553
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Post by pdf64 on May 15, 2020 3:53:49 GMT -5
LOL +2! I reuse mail envelopes to clean contacts; hate the concept of using an actual abrasive on that plating. For the inner barrel contacting surface of the sleeve of a switchcraft type jack, cut paper to wrap once around a plug, squirt cleaner lube on it, insert into jack and rotate / draw in and out. To clean up a jack plug, squirt a little cleaner lube on to paper and use that area of wetted paper to polish the contacting surfaces of the plug. For shorting contacts, cut the paper into suitable size strip to fit between the contacts. Open the contacts, squirt a little cleaner lube onto the paper and contacts. Put the paper between the contacts, close them, and draw the paper strip through.
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Post by LTB on May 15, 2020 6:07:04 GMT -5
LOL +2! I reuse mail envelopes to clean contacts; hate the concept of using an actual abrasive on that plating. For the inner barrel contacting surface of the sleeve of a switchcraft type jack, cut paper to wrap once around a plug, squirt cleaner lube on it, insert into jack and rotate / draw in and out. To clean up a jack plug, squirt a little cleaner lube on to paper and use that area of wetted paper to polish the contacting surfaces of the plug. For shorting contacts, cut the paper into suitable size strip to fit between the contacts. Open the contacts, squirt a little cleaner lube onto the paper and contacts. Put the paper between the contacts, close them, and draw the paper strip through. Great idea! Thanks
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Post by jazzguy on May 15, 2020 17:13:40 GMT -5
"a file can accelerate the death of the jack"
Yep
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